Downsizing the wedge arsenal

Hi Don,

Thanks for the comment.  Yes the 58 will be my all-purpose SW.  The bunkers where I live typically have harder wet sand so going with a 58/8.  My 56 goes about 110 to 115 and I use my 60 for 100 yards and in.  I figured the 58 would be a good replacement seeing that I could use it 110 and in and have enough loft for around the green.  The 52 will be a perfect gap between the 58 and my PW/47.  Ordered the wedges but have not received them yet but can't wait to try this set up out.  If I don't like it  I can always just add them to my shag bag of clubs around the house...can never have too many clubs laying around for a lazy afternoon. 

Hi Jesse,

I am facing the same dilema and wonder how you made out with your decision to downsize?  The PW in my miz set is 46 degrees and I have had CLVND for a number of years (various CG series) 52 56 and 60 degree with their two dot bounce.  Great wedges and they work however I found I can hit the same shot from 50 yards in, both good and bad, with either 56 or 60, hence the desire to consolidate to a Vokey set of 52.08F and 58.08M.  I compared these to my current CLVND and like the feel of Vokey but am on the fence about whether to buy 52/58 or have more consistent gaps with 50/54/58.  Too many choices.  So, back to my original question, did your decision work well.   Thanks.

I actually switched my 51, 55, 59 wedge set up this weekend for one of my tournaments and went 53 and 59 (adding a 5 wood).  The two wedge setup actually give me 15 yard gaps between wedges and I carry a vokey 47 so I'm comfortable hitting 3/4 wedge shots.  It worked out fine and really simplified my decisions around the green.  But I didn't have a lot of forced carry shots into the greens from 90-115 yds this tournament so it kinda depends on the golf course too.

When I was a kid playing 35-40 years ago we had a PW and a SW.  I had a great short game doing everything with that SW.  Now with the variety of wedges available I think I fell into the trap of too many wedges (4) and too many decisions.  So I just did what you are thinking. I just bought F Grinds in 50 and 56 and my short game has improved - I just pull the 56 and decide on the shot I want to play and go with it.  The 50 acts as a GW to my 46 PW.  My handicap is 6.

I am also debating how many wedges to go with.  I don't want to have a bag full of wedges and I think I can be more creative with less.  My problem is my PW is 44*.  So that puts me in place to go with 3 Vokeys and thus 4 wedges.  About my only option would be going with a 50/58 setup or 50/56 and drop the 60.  But that could be too large of gaps.  I really need to get some out on the course and experiment.

Hi Jesse,

I used to play the same wedge set up as you, but I took my 60 degree lob wedge out four years ago because I had trouble with hitting consistent distances. Currently, I just use a 52 and a 56. The 52 is used for pitching and the 56 is used for chips, flops, and any specialty shots around the green. Also, I use my 56 out of greenside bunkers with no problems. 

Lately, I've been thinking about swapping out a 56 for a 58, but I am just too comfortable with my 56. Good luck and let me know how you turn out. 

I had the 48, 52, 56, and 60 for a long time. Three years ago I replaced the 52 and 56 with a 54, and my handicap dropped by several strokes. With fewer clubs I can make better contact more often. To cover gaps, I know I can chock up 1/2" and drop 5 yards. 

I have the same set up and I am getting rid of the 60. Growing up I used the 56 for everything and am so much more constant with it than the 60. I always come up short on the simplest chips. I say whatever keeps you closer to the hole more often. stick with that.  Confidence in executing the shot will always a big thing for me.

I go with 47,53,59.   I tried to go with four wedges for a while and felt that it led to indecision.  I ditched the set PW years ago and go with the vokey 48...one of my favorite clubs in my bag right now

hi jesse I down sized my wedges from 52,56, 60 to a vokey 58-12 and my ap2 gap it does make choosing a club a little easer .

Okay all I have had the set up in my bag for some time now and wanted to give myself multiple rounds and practice days before I commented on how this change is going.  I found that it did make it easier to choose a club and shot around the greens and I am happy with my chose to downsize.  I have listed out some pros and cons of this decision below and hope that this will help anyone thinking of doing the same.  (also given some metrics on scoring and 100 yards and in)

Pros:

Took the many decisions around the green away and simplified the up and down game

I've gotten extremely good at using the 52 for many different types of shots from 120 yards to 95 yards.  Also use it around the green for low running chip shots.  

It has increased my up and down percentage out of green side bunkers.

Made room for one more club in the bag (not sure what to put in the 14th spot).

Cons:

I lost about 10 yards with the 58.  I used to be able to hit my 60 100 yards on the dot and now my 58 goes at best about 90 or  so yards. 

Have trouble with the flop shot using my 58.

For some reason not comfortable with a full 58, tend to slide under it (swing issue that I am working on).

Made room for one more club in the bag (not sure what to put in the 14th spot).

Average scoring round with my old set up (52, 56, 60) - 82

Average scoring round with my new set up (52, 58) - 79

Up and Down % with my old set up (guesstimate) - 70%

Up and Down % with my new set up - 80% (although i am hitting my irons extremely well right now, so that helps)

I play the same 52,56,60 setup as the OP and every time I consider switching to a 53,59 or 54,60 setup, which would allow me to add another hybrid or utility, I ask myself how many times per round am I likely to use the long club.  The answer is always less times than I would need the extra wedge.  If you solely want to eliminate a wedge because you feel the additional shot options are more of a burden than a blessing, then test it out for a couple months and see how your scoring changes.  No reason you can't go back if you decide you don't like your yardage gaps.

I just picked up new wedges and decided to go 48, 54, and 58.  After a lot of debate, I decided I'd rather have a smaller gap between my PW and 48* wedge and a larger gap back to the 54.  In my mind, I'm better at hitting a chocked down or half GW than I am a PW.  I'm going to play out the year with this setup and reevaluate over the winter.  If my gaps are way off I'll either adjust the lofts slightly or pick up new wedges next year.

My SM4 Vokey setup is 54-11 (bent 1* strong), 58-06 and 64-07.   I carried a 60-10 bent 1* strong from 2012 thru this Jan but what necessitated the change was the rains made a lot of the bunkers hard as rock.  The 58-06 has been pretty deadly for 9 months now and I have a go to shot at 65 yards (choke down 1/2" and take a full swing).

If I want to play a Sunday bag setup, I'll use my AP1 8-PW and I have a choke shot that works for the gap between the PW and the 54.  My middle game (150-175) is an SQ 7-34H and Steelhead III 11 wood (I do a choke shot with the 11w for the gap).

I also have a DCI Black 5-PW setup and that tightens the gaps a little bit but have to keep in mind that the 7 iron hits the same distance as my AP1 8 iron and the 6 iron hits the same distance as my SQ 7-34H. 

I still keep the 11 wood and 34H in my bag either way.  My 54 is 90 yards and I CAN hit it 100 with a little extra.  I get about 75 with the 58 and about 60 with the 64.

I played for 3 years with a do it yourself iron set with a 47* PW and 55* SW so I got pretty good at working the PW.

I also found that a GW is really no added value and it DOES create confusion around the green.

For me the bounce is more important than the loft. I have a high bounce 54 and a lower bounce 58. This allows me all the speciality half shots around the green. I then bent my 714 AP2 pw to 48 my nine (42) and up are std lofts.

bounce and spin produced with less than full shots are more important to me. I've always been accurate with my wedges.

 This leaves lots of room in the bag for clubs to try to hit GIR and avoid the need. 

My 2 cents 

Yes. I use a 58, 54, and 46. There is a 10 yard difference between each one. I hip with each one depending on the length of the chip I.e. 10 ft, 20 ft and 30ft. Works well for me. Ia am 75 and shoot to 6-7 handicap.

Tom S